Oil in focus at the Art Gallery of Alberta

Canadian visual artist Edward Burtynsky brings his arresting photography to Edmonton

By Jeff Lewis

September 07, 2010

Image: Edward Burtynsky, Oil Fields #22, Cold Lake Production Project, Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada, 2001

Commodities like grain, potash, oil, iron ore and steel seldom capture the imagination. There’s nothing sexy about webs of pipelines, grain elevators or smelters, after all. But there’s something unnervingly exotic about these basic resources as seen through the eyes of visual artist Edward Burtynsky. This fall, the Canadian photographer brings his unique talents to the Art Gallery of Alberta in Edward Burtynsky: Oil. It’s a fascinating and in-depth look at the infrastructure behind our attachment to petroleum products. From nodding rigs in the Californian desert to refineries in suburban southern Ontario and yes, Alberta’s oil sands, Burtynsky bears witness to the stunning scale and infinitessimal detail of our sometimes curious addiction to fossil fuels. The exhibition runs from Sept. 18 to January 2, 2011. Industrial moonscapes have never looked so pretty.

From the AGA website:

This unique exhibition follows Canadian artist Edward Burtynsky’s decade long photographic exploration of the subject of oil. From 1997 to the present, Burtynsky has travelled the world to chronicle the production, distribution and consumption of this critical fuel. EDWARD BURTYNSKY: OIL represents the “life cycle” of the energy source that has shaped the modern world. In addition to exposing the rarely-seen manufacturing process, Burtynsky’s photographs highlight the impact that oil has on our daily lives. Burtynsky also asks us to imagine a world without oil, as we confront its rising cost and dwindling supply. Rooted in the history of landscape painting, the 56 works in this exhibition present a new, modern landscape, altered by manufacturing, industry and human intervention. Produced in large scale, Burtynsky’s images are panoramic in scope and transfixing in their clarity of detail. The exhibition, EDWARD BURTYNSKY: OIL promises to be the definitive visual document of the most important subjects of our time, created by one of the most respected and recognized photographers in the world.
The AGA Presents: Edward Burtynsky
Special Artist Lecture
Saturday, September 18 at 2 pm
Tickets $15 / $10 AGA Members
Purchase tickets online now